ALEXANDRIA, Ind. —
Cheyenne Morgan was brushing off Berk, her 7-month-old Berkshire barrow, as her dad, Dave Morgan, grabbed a scoop of feed.
“It’s a family thing for us,” Cheyenne, 15, said. “We are all a part of it. My brother and sister come and help out as much as they can. And my dad is here. We are here all week.”
Siblings Scott and Shelby Morgan are 10-year 4-H members, and she has four younger siblings who will be coming up in the program soon.
In her fifth year of 4-H, the Anderson teen is part of the Grand Champions Club. This year she won two reserve-champion ribbons, a third, two fifths and a sixth place and showed six hogs.
“I love 4-H so much,” Cheyenne said. “I come to the fair every year, meet my friends, take care of my pigs. It’s a great time. And it teaches you a lot of responsibility, especially taking care of an animal that requires more attention than a dog or a cat.”
The care and attention needed isn’t just during fair week — although Cheyenne said she’s pretty much at the fair all day every day. She has to attend to Berk and her other pigs daily with tasks such as feeding and watering, spraying them down in the summer, spreading shavings for bedding, walking them one to two times every day — and one of the more dreaded tasks, shoveling and removing poop.
“Caring for my animals is very important to me,” Cheyenne said. “Sometimes people will show their hog on Monday and not come back until the auction on Thursday. I water my pigs every two to three hours. They drink a lot.”
While patting Berk, Cheyenne said it can be tough to send her pigs to auction. But she said she’s always understood that it is part of the process.
“Earlier, I went out to the barn. ... Not seeing all the pigs, that was tough,” she said. “But I know that’s the way it goes. You have to do it.”
Some animals can be shown year after year, but pigs have to be a certain age.
“I’m excited about next year,” Cheyenne said, explaining that she hopes to take on a few more animals for the 2013 county fair. “There’s a lot more to come.”
Find Abbey Doyle on Facebook and @heraldbulletin on Twitter, or call 640-4805.
4-H Fair
Related Photos
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Cheyenne Morgan, 15, cares for her reserve champion Berkshire Barrow during the 4-H Fair on Thursday. Don Knight
Discussion
Teen loves her pigs — and lets them go
- 4-H Fair
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Horses big part of 4-Hers life
Nine-year-old Micah Hardy, like many 4-Hers, has never known a life without horses. Her mother joked that her daughter was even on a horse before she was born as she rode while she was pregnant with the girl.
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Souped up and ready to go
It isn’t much of a spectator sport but the competitors readying their garden tractors for the decades-old pull sure do enjoy it. “It’s not that exciting to sit and watch,” joked Wayne Richards, the coordinator for this year’s Garden Tractor Pull at the Madison County 4-H Fair. “But it is a lot of fun to be a part of.
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More to 4-H than livestock
Don’t go into Exhibit Hall just to escape the sweltering heat at the Madison County 4-H Fair. 4-Hers like Tressia Phipps and Jackie Lieurance want you to go there to appreciate the hundreds of projects on display inside that air-conditioned building.
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Teen loves her pigs — and lets them go
In her fifth year of 4-H, Cheyenne Morgan is part of the Grand Champions Club. This year she won two reserve-champion ribbons, a third, two fifths and a sixth place and showed six hogs.
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Midway rides thrill fairgoers
Despite the heat and the storms, the midway at the Madison County 4-H Fair has a lot to offer for Alexandria and the rest of Madison County. Between classic fair food and new and returning rides, the fair has delivered another carnival for the entire area.
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At 4-H Fair, responsibility an age-old component
For Isaac Mohr and his brother, Cade, of Pendleton, raising and showing their animals for 4-H is about responsibility.
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Raising, showing animals is hard work
Showing animals in the Madison County 4-H Fair competitions is more than just strutting animals around an arena. There is a lot of hard work that goes into raising the animals, and then caring for and prepping them for the fair competitions.
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Frankton teen takes first attempt at 4-H competition in stride
Lexie Bousman is participating in her first Madison County 4-H Fair, and though her pet rooster, "Quail Bird," didn’t fare well with the judges, the bird was still a hit in other ways.
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Struggling to find the cool at the fair
As temperatures once again soared into the mid-90s on Monday, finding effective ways to keep animals and their humans cool became job one at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
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Rising early to get rabbits ready
By the time you read this Tuesday, Emilee Hollingsworth will have been up for hours, prepping and primping, cleaning and clipping the nails of her 18 rabbits, readying them for judging at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
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